The Museum team

Éloïse Gaillou

Director and curator of the museum

“Since its creation, this cabinet of curiosities, now the Mineralogy Museum, had a public and scientific mission. It was open two afternoons a week to allow the public to discover the richness of nature. A museological method, ahead of its time. Today, this mission endures. To preserve, protect, study, explain and present : this is what defines a museum. Unlike a gallery, a museum possesses a permanent collection that is documented, studied and shared. This is what we remember : we are a museum, with a collection, reserves, a permanent exhibition and a continued history that dates back to the end of the 18th century.

Even though the Paris School of Mines no longer trains mining engineers, the collection maintains its value. At its origin, as an inventory of nature, it deserves to be preserved, presented and made accessible to as many people possible. Its official name serves as a reminder : the collection of l’École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris (ENSMP) [the collection of the National Superior Paris School of Mines].”

Learn more about Éloïse